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Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Aliant Mobility and TD Bank first to offer 1X Wireless Point of Sale solution to New Brunswick Customers

Fredericton, New Brunswick – Aliant Mobility announced today that its digital 1X network will power the first Wireless Point of Sale (WPOS) terminal in Atlantic Canada that incorporates voice, data and messaging services.

For Don Webster, owner and operator of Skycab in Fredericton, New Brunswick, it has been a worthwhile investment. “We are able to offer extra services that our competition doesn’t have. We offer more convenience by allowing customers to pay with their debit cards, and also provide better service – we are in the service business, after all.”

In addition, drivers have less cash on hand, increasing driver safety. “Response has been so good that we are planning to add more terminals in the next few weeks at our sister company George’s Taxi,” explains Webster. “With TD Bank and Aliant managing the communications, I can focus on managing my business.”

Working with TD Merchant Services, the Freedom II Wireless Point of Sale Terminal allows merchants to perform secure credit and debit card transactions from any location on Aliant Mobility’s 1X digital network.

More and more Atlantic Canadians enjoy the convenience of debit and credit transactions. According to the Interac Association, banking cards are used an average of 76 times a second for every hour of every day, and there are more than 34 million banking cards in circulation in Canada. That accounts for over 200 million transactions a year in the Atlantic region alone.

"This device is a great example of how new wireless applications are helping business happen anywhere, anytime” said Chuck Hartlen, Vice President, Aliant Mobility. "We're committed to providing new and innovative technologies to customers such as Skycab, simplifying all their communications needs.”

In addition to processing transactions, the Freedom II terminal can also function as a mobile phone, which is of particular value to delivery and courier businesses, to taxi companies and to any merchant processing transactions outside of a traditional store setting. Instead of equipping a delivery person with a point of sale (POS) terminal for card acceptance and a cell phone for communication, one device now does both efficiently and cost effectively.

"This latest refinement of wireless point of sale technology has us well-positioned to meet the changing needs of existing and potential customers," said Carrie Russell, vice-president, TD Merchant Services. "Offering such enhanced debit and credit services provides us with a highly competitive value proposition in our marketplace."

About Aliant
From its home base in Atlantic Canada, Aliant delivers a wide variety of innovative and traditional communications services, including local and long distance telephony, wireless, Internet, e-commerce, interactive multimedia, data and managed network services, to more than two million consumers and over 80,000 enterprises. Aliant complements its industry-leading telecommunications business with strengths in information technology solutions and knowledge-services applications. The Company's approximately 8,400 employees build on Aliant's 100-plus year history by collaborating to deliver the highest quality of customer service, choice and convenience. Aliant is a TSX 100 company with a market capitalization of approximately $3.8 billion.

Media representatives are encouraged to sign up for Aliant News Alerts.

For more information please contact:
Isabelle Robinson
Aliant Communications & Public Affairs
(866) 694-6762
isabelle.robinson@aliant.ca

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